Background

It is not always clear who publishes a given journal - or more specifically, who owns the copyright. This is because publishing houses often work on behalf of learned societies who may or may not control copyright and related policies.

The principle behind the following list is that when two or more publishers are encountered for a given journal, each publisher will be assigned to one of the following categories - whichever is lower down the list.

In general, the lowest category in the list below takes priority regarding copyright and policies.

The List

Former Publisher (Previous Publisher)

Definition:

A Publishing organisation of any variety that has relinquished ownership to another publisher

Case/E.g.:

Ownership of Practical Neurology passed from Wiley-Blackwell to BMJ Publishing

Guidance:

May publish on behalf of ministries or departments which have their own rights and policies

Former Imprint

Definition:

Imprint of a 'Former Publisher', where ownership has changed.

Case/E.g.:

Practical Neurology had been published by the Blackwell Publishing imprint of Wiley-Blackwell, before ownership passed to BMJ Publishing.

Ownership of copyright by the associate organisation is possible, but less likely than for a client organisation.

Governmental Publisher (Government Press)

Definition:

A Publishing house run by an international, national, or regional government or agency

Case/E.g.:

UNESCO

Guidance:

May publish on behalf of ministries or departments which have their own rights and policies.

Commercial Publisher (Publishing House)

Definition:

A company that publishes for profit.

Case/E.g.:

Springer Verlag

Guidance:

Commercial publishers may both publish their own journals and publish journals on behalf of learned societies and other client organisations. They normally control the rights for their own journals, and may control the rights for the journals of client organisations. However, some client organisations retain their rights.

A publishing house run by an educational institution. May publish on behalf of 3rd party organisations

Case/E.g.:

Liverpool University Press

Guidance:

University publishers often operate the same was as commercial publisher, but are owned and controlled by an academic institution. They may just publish journals from their own institution. They may also publish journals on behalf of learned societies and similar client organisations. Client organisations usually retain their rights.

Imprint

Definition:

Subsidiary of a publishing house, with a different name, and possibly different rights

Case/E.g.:

Routledge, which is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, which in turn is an imprint of Informa

Guidance:

See also 'Sub-imprint' (which may be more suitable for societies) and 'Former imprint'.

Society Publisher (Organisational Publisher, Professional Publisher)

Definition:

Society or organisation publishing its own journals

Case/E.g.:

American Chemical Society

Guidance:

Normally do not publish for other organisations, but may publish for subdivisions which could have separate rights.

Client Organisation

Definition:

Society or organisation whose journals are published for them by a publishing house

Case/E.g.:

Publishing house declarations: 'Published on behalf of...', 'Journal of the ...'

Guidance:

Copyright probably held by the client organisation, but not certain. If the publishing house does not allow you to archive, you could contact the client organisation. RoMEO gives the policies of client organisations where known. Otherwise it gives the policies of their publishing house.

Copublisher

Definition:

One of two or more publishers of any type who jointly publish a given journal.

Case/E.g.:

Evidence-Based Mental Health is copublished by the BMJ Publishing Group, the British Psychological Society, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Publishing house declarations: 'Co-published by...', 'Published jointly by...', 'Copyright x and y'

Guidance:

Often, the journal uses the policies of only one of the copublishers (see 'Primary Copublisher'). Where the situation is unclear, we try to display the more liberal policy. Firstly we select by RoMEO colour in the order Green, Blue, Yellow, and White. If necessary, we then use a weighted algorithm that tries to identify the policy that permits archiving of the most recent version of an article.

Primary Copublisher

Definition:

The publisher whose policies apply to a journal that is published jointly by two or more publishers. This distinguishes the publisher from the other party/parties, who are designated 'Copublishers

Case/E.g.:

e.Journal of Portuguese History is copublished by the Brown University, Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, and the Universidade do Porto. Of these, Brown University is the primary copublisher. Publishing house declarations: 'Co-published by...', 'Published jointly by...', with additional indication of precedence - e.g. the contact details on all relevant web pages refer to publisher x, but not y.

Guidance:

Precedence may be indicated by a copyright declaration that only refers to publisher x, although in such cases 'Copyright Holder' would be used instead of 'Primary Copublisher'.

Sub-Imprint (Subdivision, Department)

Definition:

Subsidiary of any of the categories higher in the list

Case/E.g.:

Routledge, which is an imprint of Taylor and Francis, which in turn is an imprint of Informa

Independent Journal

Definition:

An organisation whose sole purpose is to publish its journal

Case/E.g.:

'Journal of Insect Science'

Guidance:

The journal may be hosted at an educational institution, but remain independent of the institution's management structures.

Copyright Holder

Definition:

Publisher(s) declared as copyright holder(s)

Case/E.g.:

Explicit statements - 'Copyright [year] [Name]', 'Owned by...'

Guidance:

The policies of the copyright holder take priority over the policies of any other organisations involved in the publication of a journal. Where there are two or more copyright holders, we try to display the more liberal policy. Firstly we select by RoMEO colour in the order Green, Blue, Yellow, and White. If necessary, we then use a weighted algorithm that tries to identify the policy that permits archiving of the most recent version of an article.